SAXON SWITZERLAND national park – a German hiking & climbing paradise

In the beginning of May Lu and me decided to visit this park together with my parents who were just visiting from Slovenia, despite the fact that we were initially supposed to go as a family of three – which we were not anymore. Still, this was no reason to sit in a corner and cry all the time. Getting out of the house, exploring something new and catching some fresh air was wonderful. After STOPPING IN DRESDEN FOR A DAYon the way to the park, we spent 2 nights in an apartment in a little town called GOHRISCHand went on a few hikes. We were really surprised how nice the park was and I can most definitely say that it´s ONE OF MY FAVOURITE GERMAN NATIONAL PARKS I´ve been to! Read more and check out the photos to see what I´m talking about ;).

HOW TO GET THERE

I´d say the best way to visit the park is on a road trip coming from (or going through) Prague and on to Dresden and the rest of Germany or some other northern EU country. Dresden is just 45min drive away, Prague around an hour and a half. The park is situated directly ON THE BORDER and stretches all the way into Czech republic, where it is called NARODNI PARK ČESKE ŠVYCARSKO.

The biggest AIRPORTbesides Prague is LEIPZIG/HALLE. Excluding Dresden & Leipzig, the park is quite far away from all the big German cities, Berlin being the closest one with 250km distance.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK

With its over 90 kilometres large area between the town of Pirna and the Czech border, this eastern German national park full of STUNNING ERODED ROCK FORMATIONSand GORGESoffers endless HIKING TRAILS, CYCLING ROUTESand CLIMBING ROCKS.It suits adventurers as well as families, as there are lots of different hiking paths, from easy to more demanding. You can also take a BOAT RIDE on the RIVER ELBE, which marks the park´s border on one side.

It also has a unique variety of some SPECIESand over all we found it to be an extremely INTERESTINGand FASCINATING PARK, no wonders it is said to be one of the best in Europe. The best way to discover it is to eithersettle down in one of the villages and make day hiking trips, or you pack everything and walk the famous MALERWEG(Painters way), which takes days. Malerweg has SEVERAL SECTIONS,so make sure you do your research before you go and get some maps. The are no entry fees to the park!

WHAT WE SAW & DID

SCHRAMMSTEINE

As I already said, there are MANY HIKING TRAILS,so it´s really not easy to choose which one to take, if you only have 2-3 days time. We chose to hike up to the SCHRAMMSTEINE LOOKOUT,which is one of the most visited points in the park. It was a nice sunny day and we were keen on stretching our legs, Lu was in a good mood and ready to do the same so we drove for about 20min and found a parking space close to the SCHRAMMSTEINBAUDE(it was not easy, so be there early in the morning! There are buses from Bad Schandau in case you do not have your own car) and started walking. Just after a few minutes we saw a glimpse of the first SANDSTONE ROCK and that was already a good sign ;).

At the beginning thePATH IS HARMLESSand not steep at all, it takes you through nice woods full of blueberries and is perfect for little kids as well. There seem to be sooo many ways so you really NEED A GOOD MAP.Unfortunately the SIGNSalong the way are not 100% clear, sometimes there are many, sometimes there are none and we were often unsure if we are on the right way. Asking others didn´t really help as most of them were confused as well.

And here it was, THE FIRST ROCK. We went around it and observed THE CLIMBERS,most of which were from Czech republic. It looked like fun but totally out of my league. Here, the hiking path also got a bit different and we often had to jump over a couple of rocks etc. So nothing for a stroller ;).

Right, so AFTER A FEW KILOMETRES we came to the FUN PART OF THE HIKE – CLIMBING THE LADDERSturned out to be super exciting for Lu. It was a bit slippery & wet because it was raining the night before. Mud was sticking under the shoes so it made sense to be a little more careful. This section was organised as a ONE WAY HIKE, so that people going back down the ladders would not be in the way for those going up and vice versa. Only right under the top there was one part where the “traffic” was going both ways ;).

More amazing places on the way, with so much sand on the floor it looked like a beach ;).

And finally, the LOOKOUT. The views on the mighty FALKENSTEIN ROCK & surrounding landscape were amazing and we were lucky to have clear skies. After enjoying a moment resting our legs at the top we took the LADDER LOOP WAY BACK DOWN and took the same way back from there. The whole hike was 9 KILOMETRES LONG and Lu did it with no complaining which was great! His legs were a bit tired in the evening though ;).

BAD SCHANDAU

As we started the Schrammsteine hike early in the morning, we still had enough time to make a stop in BAD SCHANDAU in the afternoon, before going back to the apartment. We were a bit surprised to pay 5€ for a large beer in this part of Germany, but hey, it seems to be pretty touristy over here, so that´s okay. Lu was even still fit enough to play at a local town playground and after a short walk along the Elbe we went back and cooked dinner.

Otherwise there are lots of HOTELS & APARTMENTS in Bad Schandau, plus a big INDOOR SWIMMING and lots of other fun things to do. Book your accommodation well in advance if you wish to stay here and are visiting over a weekend or public & school holidays.

BASTEI & BASTEIBRÜCKE BRIDGE

The next day, we were all set to visit the FAMOUS BASTEI, which is an almost 200 metres high ROCK FORMATION above the ELBE RIVER, in the so-called ELBE SANDSTONE MOUNTAINS.They were formed by water erosion and are today a TRADEMARKof the national park. Again, it was a sunny morning, perfect to go out.

But this place is not only known for its rock formations, but for its remaining BRIDGE, which was built on spot already in 1824, with wood. The one today is made of SANDSTONEand you can walk on it, admission free. Not far from the bridge there is a HOTEL, RESTAURANTS & SHOPS.It must be great to sleep here and enjoy the sunset & sunrise over the bridge!

There is a SMALL ENTRY FEE if you want to walk around more and see the famous bridge from different angles & VIEWING PLATFORMS – I can only recommend you to pay this extra €, because the views are truly fantastic! I´ll let the photos speak for themselves ;).

It is not uncommon in Germany that such natural areas are used for CULTURAL EVENTS and OPEN AIR THEATRESare very popular. This one, called RATHER FELSENBÜHNEis considered one of the most beautiful of its kind and you can go listen to operas and musicals in the summertime.

ONE LAST SHOT OF THE BRIDGE and we were off – we still had one place to visit on our list before heading back home. If you are ever in the near, this is a place you certainly should not miss to visit! It´s one of a kind and we found it very interesting. And it looked kind of not like Germany ;).

KÖNIGSTEIN FORTRESS

And here it is, this massive fortress, called FESTUNG KÖNIGSTEIN on German – it is one of the LARGEST HILLTOP FORTIFICATIONS IN EUROPE, rising around 240 metres above the river Elbe. Being over 400 years old and consisting of over 50 BUILDINGSit also hosts the SECOND DEEPEST WELL IN EUROPE.

There is a big PARKING GARAGEbefore you start walking (or you take the small train) towards the upper station where you purchase TICKETSand take an ELEVATORto the fortress. This place was packed with visitors as it was 1st of May and a NATIONAL HOLIDAY and unfortunately the weather has gotten worse and the wind was blowing more and more so it was not extremely pleasant. Despite that, we did walk all the way around, along its walls and made a circle. You can easily spend a couple of hours here if you visit some of the buildings turned into MUSEUMS.

One of the views on the river Elbe and the surrounding landscape. Visiting the castle is surely worth the entrance fee, but take your time to visit some of the museums – they all looked interesting, you can also buy freshly baked bread and have a traditional lunch. This was THE END OF OUR THIS YEAR´S 1st OF MAY TRIP, there were only good 3 hours of driving on the highway left. This was a wonderful little trip, which showed us once again Germany has beautiful corners and despite the weird situation right now, we managed to enjoy it!

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Comments 12

Holy Crap that looks amazing! I mean, I grew up in North Germany and when my family and I traveled, we almost always left the country, and I traveled mostly to cities to visit my friends… to be honest, I didn’t know this park existed 🙂 Falkenstein Rock, gotta remember this. Thanks so much, I’ll bookmark this!

Those rocks look like something from Avatar! I am surprised I had never heard of this place before, because it seems just out of this world! Never pictures Germany having such a place, even more, for rockclimbers to visit!
I am glad you continue your adventures and I will be eager to read more about your mom & son adventures in the future!

Thanks Alina! I´m sooo looking forward about our future trips, it´s one of the things that keep me going right now ;). And yes, this park is simply amazing and really doeasn´t look like it would be in Germany!

Such a beautiful place with amazing landscapes. My favorite pic is viewed on the river Elbe and the surrounding landscape. I like the trips where I can see nature and history, it is one of those with the fortress.